I have decided to give God nothing. Let me rephrase that. I am going to give God nothing that requires any inconvenience on my part.
That does not mean I won’t put things in the offering plate on Sunday. It does not mean I won’t donate to good causes and charity. It does not mean I won’t give of my tithes as the Bible says I should.
What it does mean is I won’t feel or notice my gift. My giving will not impact my lifestyle. My giving will not make a difference in what I purchase, what I eat, what I wear, where I travel and what I do. I will give God just enough to make me feel good about giving.
The significant part of this mindset is that when my giving does so little to change my life, it also does little to change the life of those to whom it is given.
I don’t like the stress. Giving and sorting out who deserves my gift is an added stress. I have enough stressors, like leaving home without my phone charger, running low on gas in the middle of a traffic jam and trying to find the right tie to match my new pair of shoes.
I don’t need the stress of the dirty, smelly man standing at my car window claiming to be a homeless veteran from every war since Viet Nam. I just roll down my window and drop a dollar in his cup. I won’t miss the dollar. This is not giving of significance.
The Bible records that King David refused to give the Lord anything that did not cost him something. There are two instances that document this. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David is intent on building an altar to the Lord in order to avert a plague. He intended to purchase the site where he would build from a man called Araunah. However, Araunah felt it would to let King David have the site for free. The king refused stating “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
If a gift to God costs nothing, it is worth nothing. If my gift is of no value to me, it is no value to the recipient.
This poor woman gave all that she had.
Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all!”
Luke 21:1-4 MSG
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 1:8 KJV
Leviticus 22:20 But whatsoever hat a blemish , that shall ye not offer, for it shall not be acceptable for you.
I give God nothing unless it is my best. It must be sacrificial or it is not a gift. It is like giving God nothing.